Shopping with Mia
by PacWoman
Summary: Cold"--he scoffed--"I have been called 'cold' many times before..."


It was a normal day for Mia Fey. As a matter a fact, it was the most _normal _day that she had since her boyfriend's poisoning only a few weeks ago. Her body had gotten frail in those two weeks; the poisoning of Diego Armando left her tired and depressed. She was recovering though for Mia Fey was a resilient woman.

For the first time in two weeks, she felt an appetite beginning to form. It was a small step forward to living a 'normal' life again but a step forward nonetheless. Her stomach growled and she made her way over to her refrigerator and gently opened it. Cold air moved its way out from the white box and brushed up against Mia. Light spilled out and she knelt down and began to sort through her food.

Her heart sank; most of the goods inside had expired. She stood up and moved over to the trashcan. It killed her to have to toss out most of her food. Normally, she would go grocery shopping a few times a week and buy fresh foods but lately she lacked the energy to leave the house, let alone go to the store and—heaven forbid—have to actually _buy _things.

She decided that she was going to go out today though. It was either that or eating canned peas and Mia Fey was _not _eating canned peas for her first real meal in two weeks.

She gingerly made her way to her closet and threw on sneakers, not even bothering to change out of her sweat pants and oversized tee-shirt. She stood in front of the mirror and gazed at herself. Dark circles lay beneath her wide brown eyes. Her hair was smooth and strait but it lacked its usual luster. She looked a lot smaller and frailer as well; not eating for two weeks took its toll on her buxom figure. She looked very different then the Mia Fey that stood proudly in court; she was a shadow of _that_ Mia Fey.

She moved away from the full-length mirror in her bedroom and decided to go to the store already. The young lady exited her apartment and made her way out the door.

The bright light came as a surprise to Mia. She squinted her eyes and stood there in a daze before walking. Her eyes eventually adjusted and she made her way over to the corner store.

Normally, the head cashier would wave enthusiastically at her and she would move over and strike up a conversation with him. He didn't even recognize her though. She moved through the store picking up various goods and putting them in her brown canvas bag that she always brought with her grocery shopping. Things were going well until she spotted _that. _

No one would have imagined that a simple can would bring a woman like Mia Fey to the ground. Her legs gave out from underneath her and tears streamed down her face. It was instant store brand coffee. Diego hated that stuff. He only drank the best—freshly ground coffee beans imported from other countries. She remembered the time when he first came over to her apartment. She wanted him to feel at home so she bought some coffee at the store. Normally she didn't care for caffeinated beverages but Diego liked them so she spent the one dollar and ninety-nine cents to please him. Then she realized that she didn't have a coffee maker and she went back to the store to buy one right before he arrived. A small gesture ended up costing her twenty bucks but she didn't care.

When Diego arrived at her apartment, she brewed him a cup of coffee and gave it to him. He accepted it and drank it. He even thanked her for it. Mia asked him if he liked it and he said that he appreciated the effort. Mia pressed him for more information. Finally, he admitted to her that he normally only drank good coffee but if it would please his kitten, he would drink cheap instant coffee for her. This didn't offend her though; the two of them laughed about it.

A simple tin brought back so many happy memories. How she wished that he was with her right now to laugh about those memories with her…he wasn't though. She picked herself up from the ground and continued to move through the store, wiping her tears from her eyes in the process. She was a lawyer. She wasn't supposed to cry until it was all over and things were far from over for her.

Eventually she made it to the fresh goods and produce. Mia first put a few oranges in her bag. She then moved on. She picked up an apple and examined it for bruises. It looked fine to her; she placed it in her canvas bag. She went to pick up another apple. In the corner of her eye, she saw a wine-colored sleeve of a suit jacket. Out of curiosity, she quickly glanced at the man next to her who was looking at oranges. Unfortunately for her, he decided to quickly glance at the woman looking at apples at the same time.

"Mia Fey, it's been awhile."

"Yes, it has, Edgeworth." Mia responded. Her posture instantly improved. She didn't think that she would have to encounter anyone other then the store clerk. He was dressed in a sharp crimson suit complete with a cravat and all. His silver hair was neatly combed into place and framed his finely chiseled face. He looked put together and professional—a complete contrast to what Mia looked like at the moment.

Edgeworth stood there silent with the corners of his mouth pulled to a frown. "I just wanted to…" He looked down at the ground and grabbed his arm. This was clearly awkward for him. "…offer my condolences and say that I am very sorry about what happened to Mr. Armando."

This was why Mia didn't want to deal with people. All of these fake apologies and condolences and the pity in people's eyes. It was sickening. The fact that the story was all over the new didn't help matters for her either; it just led to people like Edgeworth knowing about it.

"Thank you." Her voice became ridged. "But I'm fine."

He pressed his lips together and opened his mouth. Then he closed it again. "I know that you're not." He blurted out. He instantly slapped his forehead for speaking so foolishly.

Mia smiled a fake smile. "How do you know that?"

"As a prosecutor, I only go by evidence and all of the evidence points to that conclusion."

Mia nervously chucked. "What evidence?"

"You looked tired and like you haven't eaten in days. Also, your eyes are red from crying."

"As opposed to looking awake and quaggy?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry for calling you that in court that one time; I was just trying to prove a point--"

"Besides, you have no right to guess how I feel. We are two different people, you and I."

"I am well aware of that fact." Edgeworth picked up another orange and put it in a plastic bag.

"We react to things differently…" Mia continued.

"Yes, we do. Is my reaction to Terry Fawles's death what you're referring to?"

She paused before continuing further. "Yes…it is."

He raised his chin up and crossed his arms. His fingers drummed his bicep. "Do you have a problem with my reaction to his death?"

"Yes, I do." She, as well, raised her chin. "You just seemed rather…"

"Cold?"—he scoffed—"I have been called 'cold' many times before."

"Maybe because you are." She quickly grabbed an apple and quickly shoved it in her canvas bag.

"You don't know anything about me."

"And you don't know anything about me."

They stood awkwardly for a moment; each one wondering what the other one would say.

"…Maybe we're not so different after all." Mia lowered her gaze.

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Edgeworth asked.

"Evidence."

"What is this so called 'evidence' that you speak of?"

"Your cold mannerisms and your reaction to Terry Fawles's death."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

She spoke with more confidence this time. "Maybe you're so cold because you have suffered losses as well. Normally people are distraught and horrified after seeing someone die before their very eyes."

"They are." He agreed.

"Even _you_ would experience these emotions when seeing someone die in front of you. You looked sad but…"

"Not sad enough." He finished her sentence.

"Yes, exactly. Maybe you have seen horror rivaling that before. Maybe that's why you acted the way you did. No…you have definitely seen and felt such despair and horror before. That is why you act the way you do." Her eyes narrowed and she bit her thumb; a habit that she had when she was thinking.

"Is that what you think?" He smirked. "You are a good attorney, Miss Fey."

"And you're a good prosecutor, Mr. Edgeworth." She smirked as well. It instantly fell from her face. "After he died, I felt responsible. As if I was the one who killed him…"

"Are you referring to Fawles or Armando?"

"Both…" Mia sighed.

He sighed as well. "Unless if you were the one who killed them it isn't your fault."

"But…" She winced.

"We may be similar, but we're not that similar. You don't know what it's like to have that guilt on your shoulders—the guilt of actually being responsible for the life of someone dear to you ending. You really don't…"

"And you do?"

"That's private." His posture tensed up and he frowned at her.

"I…" She wanted to press further but somehow she knew that she shouldn't. "I see…"

"At any rate," He looked at his watch. "I should be going. I hope that I'll see you in court."

Mia pursed her lips. She slightly nodded her head. Edgeworth spun around on his heel and swiftly walked away. She watched him until he turned the corner and a display case of day-old baked goods blocked her view of him. Then she decided to leave the store herself.

When Mia got home from the grocery store, she laid out her favorite suit, cooked herself a nice meal, and got a full eight hours worth of sleep. The next morning she returned to work.

Note: I hope you all like this! Wow, the dialogue between Mia and Edgeworth was hard to write. In case if you were wondering, what Edgeworth was referring to is how he thought he shot his father in the DL-6 incident. He told Phoenix that he was having nightmares about killing his father and that he thought that he was responsible so I figured that, since this took place before PW1, he would still feel that way. Also the world 'quaggy' means kind of soft and flabby. I remember him calling her that in court because I had to look up the word when I played the game because I didn't know what it meant. Well, I think that answers any possible questions! I hope that you all liked this story. Thanks for reading!


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